Opinion Blog

A Wall Street insider spills his heart

I don’t know Greg Smith and never heard of Greg Smith. I don’t know whether this piece in the New York Times is anything more than sour grapes, but I am stunned by what seems to be enormous frankness and personal courage from a guy who until today was Goldman Sachs’ executive director and head of the firm’s United States equity derivatives business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

It had something to do with pride and belief in the organization. I am sad to say that I look around today and see virtually no trace of the culture that made me love working for this firm for many years. I no longer have the pride, or the belief.

Or this line

The firm has veered so far from the place I joined right out of college that I can no longer in good conscience say that I identify with what it stands for.

And this line

How did we get here? The firm changed the way it thought about leadership. Leadership used to be about ideas, setting an example and doing the right thing. Today, if you make enough money for the firm (and are not currently an ax murderer) you will be promoted into a position of influence.

Smith isn’t just saying that Goldman Sachs is a tough place to work, but is a place that has scant regard for the clients who trust the company with their investment futures. That’s damning, if true. And it has caught the attention of so many because the politically connected Goldman was once the home of former CEOs like Henry Paulson, who was Treasury Secretary during the George W. Bush administration and author of the bank bailouts, and Jon Corzine, the former governor of New Jersey who is in the midst of his own financial crisis, a missing $1.2 billion at his failed firm, MF Global. And it been a big financial backer of Barack Obama and has ties to Mitt Romney.
Goldman has responded with this statement:

“We disagree with the views expressed, which we don’t think reflect the way we run our business. In our view, we will only be successful if our clients are successful. This fundamental truth lies at the heart of how we conduct ourselves.”

Stay tuned. This saga is just beginning.

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The Dallas Morning News Editorial Board was the first editorial board in the nation to use a blog to openly discuss hot topics and issues among its members and with readers. Our intent is to pull back the curtain on the daily process of producing the unsigned editorials that reflect the opinion of the newspaper, and to share analysis and opinion on issues of interest to board members and invited guest bloggers.